


an unconventional date

by transbuck



Series: domestic life was never quite my style [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Parenthood, god i really am just useless at tagging arent i?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transbuck/pseuds/transbuck
Summary: Eddie has been looking forward to his and Buck's first date for weeks now.Well, it's notreallytheir first date he's been looking forward to. They've been out together a few times, mostly just quick lunches or dinners whenever Buck can get someone to watch Olivia for an hour or so. There have been a couple times where Buck had to take Olivia with him to see Eddie because he hadn't been able to find someone to watch her before he had to meet Eddie.But tonight was supposed to be their firstofficialdate.





	an unconventional date

Eddie has been looking forward to his and Buck's first date for weeks now.

Well, it's not  _really_ their first date he's been looking forward to. They've been out together a few times, mostly just quick lunches or dinners whenever Buck can get someone to watch Olivia for an hour or so. There have been a couple times where Buck had to take Olivia with him to see Eddie because he hadn't been able to find someone to watch her before he had to meet Eddie.

But tonight was supposed to be their first  _official_ date. Maddie was supposed to watch Olivia for the evening so Buck and Eddie could go to dinner somewhere  _nice_. They were both going to dress up nice and spend more than just a rushed hour together. Buck was going to pick Eddie up and then they'd spend a nice evening together where neither of them have to worry over Olivia.

But Buck was supposed to pick him up an hour ago, and he hasn't been responding to any of Eddie's 'where are you?' texts. Eddie's gotten tired of the useless waiting, so he decides to make his way to Buck's apartment to see what the hold up's for.

When he's made it to Buck's front door, the first thing he does is knock loudly on it. He swears he can hear some banging around and crying, and it worries him greatly.

Buck finally opens the door after a few more minutes of loud noises, breathless, looking like he hasn't slept in weeks, and with a teary-eyed Olivia in his arms. He stares at Eddie for a moment, clearly very confused. "Oh my God," he murmurs once he finally realizes why Eddie must be there. "Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry, I completely forgot."

"It's fine, Buck, seriously," Eddie says sincerely. "We can just go out some other time."

" _Still_ ," Buck replies. "I know you were looking forward to tonight. And I was too. I'm just— God, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's okay, hon, seriously. We'll just go get dinner some other time. Can I come in?"

Buck gives him an odd sort of look. "I don't— You  _want_ to come in?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Buck pauses. Furrows his brows a bit. Glances down at Olivia before looking back up at Eddie. "Never mind, I guess." He steps aside, lets Eddie walk inside before shutting the door behind him. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess. Today's been kind of a disaster and I haven't really had the time to clean up, like,  _at all_."

"That's fine," Eddie replies, glances around the apartment for a moment. "Is everything okay? You look like you're about to drop dead."

"Um, yeah, I just..." Buck trails off a little, holds Olivia a little closer to his chest and finds a seat on the couch. Eddie wordlessly sits down next to him. "Today's just been really rough."

"What happened?" Eddie asks, throwing an arm around Buck's shoulders and pulls him a little closer. Buck lazily drops his head on Eddie's shoulder.

"So, you know how Maddie was supposed to babysit tonight?" Buck starts, glances up at Eddie for a moment. Eddie nods silently. "Well, she called me this morning. Told me she woke up feeling super sick and that she couldn't watch Olivia tonight. I was like, 'yeah, that's fine, I'll just figure something else out'. But then, uh." He pauses, takes a deep, calming breath. "But then Olivia started feeling super sick, and she's never been this sick before, so I felt a little nervous to leave her home alone with a babysitter, y'know? I don't want her to be alone with a stranger while she's sick like this. And today's been so rough on her and I've been so worried about her that I just... I totally spaced about tonight. I'm still really sorry."

"That's okay," Eddie murmurs, presses a gentle kiss to Buck's temple. "She seems like she's doing alright now, though."

"For now, yeah. But, uh, bedtime's gonna be rough. Nap time this afternoon was  _hard_. She only slept for, like, twenty minutes. You might wanna head out before bedtime, she's gonna be an absolute  _terror_."

"When I said you didn't have to do this alone, I meant it," Eddie says sincerely, nudges Buck's head away from his shoulder to look him in the eyes. "I asked if I could come in so I could _help_ you. So let me help you."

Buck stares at Eddie for a moment, eyes watering a little bit. "Okay," he murmurs simply, sniffles a little and looks away. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, honey," Eddie mumbles, presses a firm kiss to Buck's forehead.

"I still appreciate it," Buck says quietly. He plops his head right back down on Eddie's shoulder, and Eddie's heart just about  _melts_ at how soft Buck looks, with his daughter cradled tightly against his chest.

It's about twenty minutes later, after Eddie's sure that Buck's fallen asleep, when Olivia suddenly starts crying. Buck jolts up, breathing heavily with wide eyes. "Here, lemme take her," Eddie murmurs, gently rubbing Buck's arms. "You deserve to relax a little. I'll take care of her."

"You sure?" Buck asks quietly, gently rocking Olivia.

"Yeah, I got this. You can get some more rest," Eddie replies. Buck eyes him warily for a moment before slowly handing Olivia to him. "Seriously, hon. Get some more rest."

"Alright. Just come grab me if you need anything, okay?"

"I know, sweetie," Eddie says quietly, presses a gentle kiss to Buck's lips before standing up. "We'll be right back. You get some more sleep." Buck nods carefully, settles back in on the couch. Eddie smiles fondly as he walks off with Olivia cradled in his arms, rocking her back and forth while whispering sweet nothings to her. "You sound like you're hungry, baby girl. You need somethin' to eat?" he whispers to Olivia as he walks into the kitchen. He rummages around for some cereal, pours a little bit into a bowl. He finds a spot at the kitchen table, holding Olivia in his lap as she tearfully eats some of the cereal. He hums quietly to her, runs a careful hand through her hair. After she's decided she's done eating, he stands, cradling her against his chest and slowly walking back into the living room. He tries to carefully sit back down next to Buck, but the moment he sits, Buck jolts awake.

"How is everything?" Buck asks sleepily after a moment. "She okay?"

"Yeah, she's all good," Eddie murmurs, reaches forward to run a gentle hand through Buck's hair. "You should lay back down. Get some more rest."

Buck waves his his hand dismissively, gingerly takes Olivia into his arms. "'S fine. I'm fine. I'll get more rest when she's gone to bed."

"At least relax a little until then?"

Buck gives him an odd sort of look for a moment. "Okay," he says finally, resting his head back on Eddie's shoulder. Eddie immediately wraps his arm around Buck, tugs him a little closer.

About a half hour later, Buck glances at the time on his watch. He very begrudgingly gets up off the couch and out of Eddie's arms. "'S bedtime. Moment of truth," he mumbles, leans down and presses a quick kiss to Eddie's lips.

"You want me to come with you?" Eddie asks quietly.

"No, it's okay. We've got this, don't we, sweetheart?" Buck says the last part quietly to Olivia, presses a quick kiss to her forehead. "As soon as she's in bed, I'll be all yours, alright?"

"Alright. G'night, sweet pea," Eddie murmurs mostly to Olivia, a sweet smile on his face.

Buck flashes him a gentle smile before walking off toward his daughter's bedroom. Eddie realizes, once Buck's left, that he must have left the baby monitor in the living room from Olivia's nap because he can hear Buck murmuring quiet nonsense to her. He listens in fondly, his heart feeling warm and full, until he hears Olivia start crying. "Sweetheart, it's bedtime," Buck murmurs, and Eddie frowns at just how  _exhausted_ Buck sounds. "C'mon, angel. Daddy's tired and wants to go to bed." Eddie feels his heart ache when the crying only gets louder. "C'mon, sweetie, it's okay. It's okay. You'll feel better if you go to bed. I promise, honey." Eddie's frown only deepens when he hears how  _desperate_ Buck sounds. Suddenly, he hears what sounds like soft sobs coming from Buck, and he immediately shoots up and rushes off toward Olivia's room. The first thing he sees is Buck sitting on the floor against the wall, holding Olivia with tears streaming down his face.

"Oh,  _honey_ ," Eddie murmurs, kneeling down on the floor next to Buck. He takes Buck's face into his hands, gently wipes the tears away with his thumbs.

"'M fine, it's okay," Buck mumbles through his tears.

"No, you're not fine. It's okay to not be fine, sweetheart. Remember what I said earlier? About you not having to do this alone?" Buck nods shakily. "Give her to me, okay? I can put her to bed. You've more than earned some rest." Buck opens his mouth to protest, but Eddie quickly interrupts. "I'm serious. You obviously need some rest. It's okay, I've got this."

"You sure?" Buck murmurs shakily, wipes at his eyes with a fist.

"I'm sure, honey. It breaks my heart to see you so upset. Just let me handle this, alright?" Eddie whispers, pressing the gentlest of kisses to Buck's forehead. Buck frowns, gently hands Olivia over after a moment. "You go lay down on the couch, and when she's asleep, we can go sleep. I'll stay the night and everything. Okay?"

"Okay," Buck mumbles, sniffles. He wipes at his eyes again before standing up, stumbling off toward the living room.

Eddie stands, holding Olivia close to his chest and rocking her slowly. It breaks his heart to hear her in so much pain. He quietly sings some old lullaby he used to sing to Christopher whenever he couldn't sleep and, by some miracle, it manages to calm her down. He ever so gently places her into her crib, slowly creeps out of her room, and cautiously closes the door. When he doesn't hear any further noise, he makes his way back into the living room and, the moment he sees Buck, slumped over and half asleep on the couch, his heart melts. He very carefully nudges Buck awake, and the sleepy smile he wears makes him fall in love all over again.

"She asleep?" Buck asks quietly.

"Out like a light," Eddie confirms.

" _God_ ," Buck mumbles, cupping Eddie's cheek and pulling him in for a firm kiss. "You're a wizard. What would I ever do without you?"

"You'd survive," Eddie murmurs against Buck's lips. "Because, believe it or not, you're actually a pretty amazing father. You just get a little overwhelmed sometimes, and that's okay. Now, I think it's time for you to get some actual rest. Come on." He carefully takes Buck's hands and pulls him up off of the couch, leading him to Buck's bedroom.

"Thank you," Buck mumbles once they're settled in bed with Eddie spooning him.

"For what?" Eddie asks into his hair.

"For helping out today. For being so understanding. For being the best boyfriend I ever could've asked for."

"Of course," Eddie replies. "I'm just glad to be here. Now get some sleep, alright? You've earned it, honey."

"Okay. Goodnight, babe."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."


End file.
